Debating Human Genetics: Contemporary Issues in Public Policy and Ethics

ISBN-13: 9780415451093 / Angielski / Twarda / 2010 / 238 str.

Alexandra Plows

Opis

Debating Human Genetics is based on ethnographic research focusing primarily on the UK publics who are debating and engaging with human genetics, and related bio and techno-science. Drawing on recent interviews and data, collated in a range of public settings, it provides a unique overview of multiple publics as they 'frame' the stake of the debates in this emerging, complex and controversial arena. The book outlines key sites and applications of human genetics that have sparked public interest, such as biobanks, stem cells, genetic screening and genomics. It also addresses the 'scientific contoversies' that have made considerable impact in the public sphere - the UK police DNA database, gene patenting, 'saviour siblings', and human cloning. By grounding the concepts and issues of human genetics in the real life narratives and actions of patient groups, genetic watchdogs, scientists, policy makers, and many other public groups, the book exemplifies how human genetics is a site where public knowledge and value claims converge and collide, and identifies the emergence of 'hybrid publics' who are engaging with this hybrid science.

This book examines contemporary public debate on emerging developments in medical genetics, including cloning, gene therapy, gene patenting, biobanks, genetic testing and screening, and pharmacogenomics. The basic science and the ethical, political and social issues are outlined in a user-friendly manner. The book explores the main actors in these debates, their core positions and characteristic arguments.

This book is intended as a primer, well-indexed and cross referenced for ease of use at different levels. It includes a glossary, a guide on how to keep updated in this fast changing field, text-boxes, tables and mapping diagrams of complex interactions.

Spis treści

Introduction 1. Methodology and Publics Overview 2. Stem Cells and Cloning 3. Biobanks and Databases 4. 'PharmacoG' as Product and Process 5. Genetic Screening and Testing 6. Genetic Exceptionalism, Health, Identity and Citizenship 7. Informed Consent, Individual Choice 8. Futures Talk Conclusion Scientific Glossary 

O autorze

Dr Alexandra Plows is a Research Fellow with The Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research, Data and Methods (WISERD), Bangor University. Her research has focused on different types of public engagement in controversial arenas including the environment, globalisation, and technoscience; an overview is provided in a recent paper in Sociology Compass.